Aa
please describe this TN pain for me?
HI,
I HAVEN'T BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH MS. I HAVE BEEN GETTING MY SYMPTOMS TOGETHER FOR THE DOCTOR. IS THIS TN PAIN, A VERY SHARP PAINFUL PAIN THAT SHOOTS FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TOP OF JAW BONE TO THE OTHER EITHER SIMULTANEOUSLY OR AT THE SAME TIME?
I HAVEN'T BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH MS. I HAVE BEEN GETTING MY SYMPTOMS TOGETHER FOR THE DOCTOR. IS THIS TN PAIN, A VERY SHARP PAINFUL PAIN THAT SHOOTS FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TOP OF JAW BONE TO THE OTHER EITHER SIMULTANEOUSLY OR AT THE SAME TIME?
I have v2 and v3 involvment in my right side. It actually started in my nose of all places. I was getting these horried shooting pains running up my nose at times.
Once the BIG one hit I realized that was what was going on with my nose. It was so bad I could not find a place to lay my head with out pain.
My left side has the v3 and is much less of an issue. My teeth and jaw line are the problem on that side but it is not that bring you to your knees type of pain.
You know all of the complaints about water boarding? Well forget that, just give them a good dose of what we with TN go through and they will spill their guts! :)
Thank God for these meds. Does medication help control TN pain in people with MS more successfully than in cases where TN is not related to MS? I have had a lot of luck in my situation.
My mom and both sisters all have confirmed dx's of TN. I know it is said it does not run in families but come and ask my family! They have had a more difficult time finding relief. I am on some good meds that really help me a lot.
My sister's have the v1 involvment. My mom and one sister are diabetic. My other sister probably has MS but is running in the other direction AWAY from getting a diagnosis. It will catch up with her.
I am wipped out and can not walk well today so it is off to the couch for me. I need a nap. soon........
LA
Once the BIG one hit I realized that was what was going on with my nose. It was so bad I could not find a place to lay my head with out pain.
My left side has the v3 and is much less of an issue. My teeth and jaw line are the problem on that side but it is not that bring you to your knees type of pain.
You know all of the complaints about water boarding? Well forget that, just give them a good dose of what we with TN go through and they will spill their guts! :)
Thank God for these meds. Does medication help control TN pain in people with MS more successfully than in cases where TN is not related to MS? I have had a lot of luck in my situation.
My mom and both sisters all have confirmed dx's of TN. I know it is said it does not run in families but come and ask my family! They have had a more difficult time finding relief. I am on some good meds that really help me a lot.
My sister's have the v1 involvment. My mom and one sister are diabetic. My other sister probably has MS but is running in the other direction AWAY from getting a diagnosis. It will catch up with her.
I am wipped out and can not walk well today so it is off to the couch for me. I need a nap. soon........
LA
Hi, Welcome to the forum! I hope we can help.
The powers that be state that you can't have the TN pain on both sides at the same time. I'm alsways a little skeptical of things that say "never." But, it is clear that no one has "reported a patient with TN that appears on both sides simultaneously. Many people with MS do have TN on both sides. Each side acts up in its own pattern.
There are two types of TN. The first is the Classic Form and a lost of neurologists only recognize this form. (I think they are behind on their continuing education). This is an excrutiatingly severe shot of pain throguh a specific place on the face when stimulated by certain things. The specifics are different with each person.
Here is a blurb I wrote for another person some time back:
"Trigeminal Neuralgia is literally a "pain syndrome of the Trigeminal nerve. This nerve is the 5th Cranial Nerve and supplies most of the sensation to the face. There is one on both sides.
The Cranial Nerves are nerves that emerge directly out of the brain or brainstem. They look just like peripheral nerves, but because they originate in the CNS, they are part of the central system.
TN is considered one of the most intolerable of all pains. Its nickname is "The Suicide Pain." When it occurs in the normal population it is usually due to a compression of the nerve by a blood vessel. That is why there are surgical procedures to relieve the pressure. But, in MS the cause is an attack of demyelination somewhere along the nerve or at its root in the brainstem. It is 300 times more common in people with MS, thaqn in the general population. Occsaionally TN can occur bilaterally. In this case it isw almost always due to MS. However, when an MSer has bilateral TN it doesn't hurt on both sides at the same time, according to the experts in the field. Also the pain does not cross the midline because the nerves do not cross the midline from either side.
Classically it has been believed that TN only occurs as: in shooting or lancinating bursts of excrutiating pain. The Trigeminal Nerve has three branches. V1 supplies sensory info from around the eyes and higher on the face. This is not commonly involved in TN. V2 supplies the side of the face from the ear to below the eye, the side of the nose, the upper lip, upper gums and teeth. V3 is the most common site of TN and the pain runs along the jaw, lower lip, lower gums and teeth. Sometimes V2 and V3 are both affected.
TN often has a specific trigger which sets the pain off. This can be stimtulation of the lip, nostril, cheek, opr by activities such as chewing, or swallowing. Some people are so sensitive that a smile or a breeze across the face can set it off.
However, recently reseachers in the field have described a common variation of the classical TN, which is called Atypical TN. In this the person may or may not have the typical shooting pains, but they have an ongoing, steady pain in the area of the affected branch of the nerve. This pain may be burning, boring, deeply aching. there also may be shooting pains on top of the steady pain. By definition this pain is present the majority of the waking hours. When I had TN I started with the pain occurring unpredictably when I bit down on a certain molar. But, after a few months the pain became constant and felt like my lower molars on that side were infected. I went to the dentist who diagnosed TN when the X-rays were normal.
The firstline drug for treating TN is carbamazepine (the anti-seizure med, Tegretol) I began to feel some lessening of the pain almost immediately. By the time I had moved up to 900mg per day the pain was under very good control. If Tegretol doesn't work, then others can be tried. "" The meds used are the ones typically used for neuropathic pain, like neurontin (gabapentin) or Lyrica. Someone here is also on Trileptal and another on Topomax.
I hope this helps.
Quix
The powers that be state that you can't have the TN pain on both sides at the same time. I'm alsways a little skeptical of things that say "never." But, it is clear that no one has "reported a patient with TN that appears on both sides simultaneously. Many people with MS do have TN on both sides. Each side acts up in its own pattern.
There are two types of TN. The first is the Classic Form and a lost of neurologists only recognize this form. (I think they are behind on their continuing education). This is an excrutiatingly severe shot of pain throguh a specific place on the face when stimulated by certain things. The specifics are different with each person.
Here is a blurb I wrote for another person some time back:
"Trigeminal Neuralgia is literally a "pain syndrome of the Trigeminal nerve. This nerve is the 5th Cranial Nerve and supplies most of the sensation to the face. There is one on both sides.
The Cranial Nerves are nerves that emerge directly out of the brain or brainstem. They look just like peripheral nerves, but because they originate in the CNS, they are part of the central system.
TN is considered one of the most intolerable of all pains. Its nickname is "The Suicide Pain." When it occurs in the normal population it is usually due to a compression of the nerve by a blood vessel. That is why there are surgical procedures to relieve the pressure. But, in MS the cause is an attack of demyelination somewhere along the nerve or at its root in the brainstem. It is 300 times more common in people with MS, thaqn in the general population. Occsaionally TN can occur bilaterally. In this case it isw almost always due to MS. However, when an MSer has bilateral TN it doesn't hurt on both sides at the same time, according to the experts in the field. Also the pain does not cross the midline because the nerves do not cross the midline from either side.
Classically it has been believed that TN only occurs as: in shooting or lancinating bursts of excrutiating pain. The Trigeminal Nerve has three branches. V1 supplies sensory info from around the eyes and higher on the face. This is not commonly involved in TN. V2 supplies the side of the face from the ear to below the eye, the side of the nose, the upper lip, upper gums and teeth. V3 is the most common site of TN and the pain runs along the jaw, lower lip, lower gums and teeth. Sometimes V2 and V3 are both affected.
TN often has a specific trigger which sets the pain off. This can be stimtulation of the lip, nostril, cheek, opr by activities such as chewing, or swallowing. Some people are so sensitive that a smile or a breeze across the face can set it off.
However, recently reseachers in the field have described a common variation of the classical TN, which is called Atypical TN. In this the person may or may not have the typical shooting pains, but they have an ongoing, steady pain in the area of the affected branch of the nerve. This pain may be burning, boring, deeply aching. there also may be shooting pains on top of the steady pain. By definition this pain is present the majority of the waking hours. When I had TN I started with the pain occurring unpredictably when I bit down on a certain molar. But, after a few months the pain became constant and felt like my lower molars on that side were infected. I went to the dentist who diagnosed TN when the X-rays were normal.
The firstline drug for treating TN is carbamazepine (the anti-seizure med, Tegretol) I began to feel some lessening of the pain almost immediately. By the time I had moved up to 900mg per day the pain was under very good control. If Tegretol doesn't work, then others can be tried. "" The meds used are the ones typically used for neuropathic pain, like neurontin (gabapentin) or Lyrica. Someone here is also on Trileptal and another on Topomax.
I hope this helps.
Quix
Mine is one sided and shears like a hot knife through my cheek, behind my ear, and up. It is like a hot current running and ripping through my face and head.
I've not had it on both side at the same time. But I do have it on one side OR the other. My right side is much worse.
I am on two different seizure medications to help keep it under control. don't know if that help because to be honest it is difficult to put into words.
so painful just the movement of one hair can set it off when it is active.
I've not had it on both side at the same time. But I do have it on one side OR the other. My right side is much worse.
I am on two different seizure medications to help keep it under control. don't know if that help because to be honest it is difficult to put into words.
so painful just the movement of one hair can set it off when it is active.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Multiple Sclerosis Community
Top Neurology Answerers
Australia
ON
Queensland, Australia
Queen Creek, AZ
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
